Minister of Trade and Industry Ahmed Samir has announced that the trade exchange between Egypt and the African countries amounted to $2.117bn in the first quarter (1Q) of this year. The minister said that Egyptian commodity exports to the African continent amounted to $1.611bn, while Egyptian imports from the continent registered $506m. Samir said that the ministry is working to achieve economic integration between the African countries and to overcome obstacles that may hinder the movement of trade between countries. In addition to, benefit from trade agreements signed between Egypt and the countries as well as economic blocs of the continent such as the COMESA Agreement and the African Continental Free Trade Agreement, besides expanding in participation in specialised exhibitions, and increasing the presence of Egyptian commercial representation in many African countries. Chairperson of the General Organization for Export and Import Control, Essam Al-Naggar, stated that the top five receiving markets for Egyptian exports are Libya by $317m, Sudan by $226m, Algeria by $217m, Morocco by $191m, and Tunisia by $86m. Al-Naggar added that the most prominent Egyptian exports to the African continent in 1Q 2023 included construction materials ($422m), chemical products and fertilizers ($358m), food industries ($242m), engineering and electronic goods ($185m), medical industries ($103m), printing, packaging, paper, books, and artistic works ($98m), agriculture crops ($80m), spinning and textiles ($47m), furniture ($24m), furnishings ($18m), ready-made garments ($15m), and handicrafts ($14m).
